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Let me introduce you to Baxter. Baxter is an affable, adorable dog living in Shaw. Baxter has an owner named Jonas Singer, both of whom enjoy strolls around the neighborhood and the grassy Le Droit Park. Baxter is also blind. Story has it that one fine day while the two were romping around good ol’ Shaw, Singer had an idea. He and some friends approached Darnell of Darnell’s Bar, located on the quiet corner of 9th St and Florida Avenue, which opened at 5pm. The ingenious idea was to create a pop-up restaurant during the day that would cater to neighborhood residents and foster community, providing breakfast and lunch meals made exclusively from fresh and local produce from the surrounding area and aptly naming it the Blind Dog Cafe. Nestled on a colorfully-clothed bench, one can enjoy good coffee, a better sandwich, and free WiFi (appropriately, the password is BAXTERCANTSEE). On any given day, the place is full of locals grabbing a quick bite, or young professionals typing away on a Mac laptop next to a plate full of crumbs. And per the nomming on a budget blog motif, salads and sandwiches are only $9 and $10 respectively!

I chose the famed Roasted Chorizo sandwich with a side salad. It boasts chorizo sausage, cherry tomatoes, and an absolutely delectable sriracha aioli. I ate it in five minutes. To wash it all down, I chose one of the in-house sodas in the Lime flavor. I am an enormous fan of effervescent beverages, and this limey delight was no let down.

Power up your breakfast kids! It is after all the most important meal of the day. After a Sunday stop at my neighborhood Trader Joe’s, I made this scrumptious smoothie for breakfast on Monday. Each element of this mix is super good for you; I basically overdosed on Vitamin C , calcium and magnesium. It was ideal for a Monday morning, when, let’s face it, most of us are feeling subpar. Bonus: TJ’s is known for their cheap produce and the smoothie was so filling I barely needed lunch.

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Okay, so I’m a day late, but Happy National Dessert Day!! Unfortunately for me, I was bumbling about my day unaware of the monumental occasion that is National Dessert Day. Thank goodness I have a tool like Instagram to stalk other people and remind me about what I miss. I already had this recipe and pictures handy, as I recently lost in Fantasy Football (sigh) and made these treats for my whole office. They were an absolute hit, and I’ve had many requests that I continue my losing streak. You only need a box of brownie mix (and the ingredients that are noted on it- i.e. one egg and some vegetable oil) and your choice of Oreo packages! SO cheap and SO easy. My favorite are the Birthday Cake as I’m slightly obsessed with all things funfetti, however feel free to substitute with just plain Double Stuffed (an unbeatable classic) or Mint (a refreshing surprise in the middle of a brownie).

Mix together all the brownie ingredients in a big mixing bowl. Spray the appropriate size pan, and spoon in HALF of the brownie mixture on the bottom. Cover the pan evenly. Then, place rows of Oreos on top of the mix until entire surface area of pan becomes Oreos. Then, scoop the remaining half of the brownie mix onto said Oreos, covering the cookies as you go. Make sure to spoon mix gently into the spaces between Oreos. Below, the left is the raw batter, and the right is how they come out of the oven! The circles make it super easy to cut evenly sized pieces, just slice in between the Oreos. Pro tip: let the brownies cool for about 5 minutes before trying to cut.